1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a technique for concurrently executing a printing process and a print-command sending process, whereby a print control is efficiently performed.
2. Description of the Related Art
A print control system is known which concurrently executes a process for converting image data to be printed (print data) into print commands and a process for sending the print commands to a printing device.
The print control system is schematically shown in FIG. 10. As shown, the print control system is made up of a print management section 31, a print processing section 32 and a command file 33 and a command transmitting section 34. The print management section 31 receives a print request from an application (AP) and issues a print job in response to this. The print processing section 32 generates print data to be printed and converts the print data into print commands formatted so as to be acceptable by a printing device to be used. The command file 33 temporarily stores the print commands. The command transmitting section 34 executes a process for transmitting the print commands, which are stored in the command file 33, to the printing device. The file name of the command file 33 is designated when the processes by the print processing section 32 and the command transmitting section 34 are initialized.
When the print control device 30 performs an actual print control, the print management section 31 sends a print job to the print processing section 32, and the command file name to the command transmitting section 34. Upon receipt of this, the print processing section 32 carries out a process for converting print data into print commands, and stores the print commands into the command file 33 designated. The command transmitting section 34 reads out the print commands from the designated command file name whenever occasion demands, and sends the readout ones to a printing device. The processes by the print processing section 32 and the command transmitting section 34 are carried out concurrently. Therefore, the abilities of the processors are fully utilized. A process speed of the command transmitting section depends on a transmission rate when the data is transmitted to the printing device, and hence is slower than that of the print processing section. For this reason, while one print command is sent to the printing device, the subsequent print command is stored in the command file 33.
The print control device 30, which concurrently executes the processes by the print processing section 32 and the command transmitting section 34, operates at high speed in a normal print mode, but will malfunction when it receives a print interrupt instruction.
When receiving a print interrupt instruction, the print management section 31 sends the reception of the instruction to the processes by the print processing section 32 and the command transmitting section 34. In this case, a print command, not yet sent, is stored in the command file 33 since the process speed of the print processing section 32 is higher than of the command transmitting section 34. If this stored command is sent to the printing device, some time is taken till the printing operation is actually interrupted. If it is not sent, the printing device stops its operation during the printing operation, and a printing paper discharging is abnormal. If the printing paper is stopped before it is completely discharged, the following problem arises when a print command is sent again, it is not normally recognized resulting in a called xe2x80x9ctrashxe2x80x9d printing. A command to forcibly stop the printing device may be sent to the printing device. If the forcibly stopping command is simply applied to the printing device, a called xe2x80x9cdata-choppingxe2x80x9d phenomenon occurs. This hinders the process execution.
Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide an improved print control method which solves the problems that arises when a process for converting print data into a predetermined format of print commands and a process for sending the print commands to a printing device are concurrently executed, to thereby provide an efficient print control.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a print control system suitable for the execution of the control method, and a recording medium used for executing the print control method by a computer.
According to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a print control method for a device which concurrently executes, by use of a computer, a process for converting print data into a predetermined format of print commands and storing the resultant and another process for sequentially reading out the print commands stored and sending the readout print commands to a printing device, wherein indicating information indicating whether or not the interrupt of the subsequent processing of the print commands is to be permitted or rejected is attached to the print commands converted, and the print control method comprises a process for interpreting the indicating information and determining whether or not the subsequent processing of the print commands is to be interrupted, by the result of interpreting the indicating information before the print commands are sent.
According to another aspect, there is provided a print control method for the above-mentioned device wherein indicating information indicative of a print position is attached to each group consisting of the converted print commands, and the print control method comprises a process for passing print commands till a group with indicating information indicating a specific print position appears, by the indicating information of other groups before the print commands are sent.
According to still another aspect of the invention, there is provided a print control system having print processing means for converting print data into a predetermined format of print commands and storing the resultant and transmission processing means for sequentially reading out the print commands stored and sending the readout print commands to a printing device, wherein the print processing means the transmission processing means concurrently operate, the improvement being characterized in that the print processing means includes means for attaching indicating information indicating whether or not the interrupt of the subsequent processing of the print commands is to be permitted or rejected to the print commands converted, and the transmission processing means includes means for interpreting the indicating information and determining whether or not the subsequent processing of the print commands is to be interrupted, by the result of interpreting the indicating information before the print commands are sent.
According to the present invention, there is another print control system in which the print processing means includes means for attaching indicating information indicative of a print position to each group consisting of the converted print commands, and the transmission processing means includes means for passing print commands till a group with indicating information indicating a specific print position appears, by the indicating information of each group before the print commands are sent.
A recording medium of the invention is a recording medium, accessible by a computer, which stores a program for causing the computer to execute the following processes:
(1-1) a process for converting print data into a predetermined format of print commands and storing the resultant,
(1-2) a process for attaching indicating information indicating whether or not the interrupt of the subsequent processing of the print commands is to be permitted or rejected to the converted print commands, and storing the resultant,
(1-3) a process for interpreting the indicating information stored to determine whether or not the interrupt of the subsequent processing of the print commands is to be permitted or rejected, and
(1-4) a process for sending only the print commands determined to be sent by the contents of the indicating information to a printing device.
Another recording medium of the invention is a recording medium, accessible by a computer, which stores a program for causing the computer to execute the following processes:
(2-1) a process for converting print data into a predetermined format of print commands,
(2-2) a process for gathering the converted print commands into groups,
(2-3) a process for attaching indicating information indicative of a print position to each group and storing the resultant,
(2-4) a process for passing print commands till a group with indicating information indicating a specific print position appears, by the indicating information of each group stored, and
(2-5) a process for sending predetermined print commands to a printing device when a group with indicating information indicating a specific print position appears.
The identifying information is preferably information formatted so as not to be recognized by the printing device, and deleted before the print commands are sent to the printing device.